Silence 1073.040 or Silence 1073.050?

[Tremor_Clown]

Hi Roger,

Can you recommend which pump would be a better fit for my return, and which pump would be better to feed two media reactors?
I have a 60 gallon cube with 20 gallon sump with approximately 4 feet of head pressure, and one elbow/bend. I wasn't sure if the flow control on the 1073.050 would be beneficial to the return and/or the media reactors or would the 1073.040 work just as well?
Also, is there any noise difference between these two pumps? I'm looking for whatever is the quietest.

Thank you very much,
Ryan

 

[rvitko]

Noise really should be about the same, they use the same impeller and same basic body, the 1073.050 just has a different motor.

My personal preference would be each reactor has its own pump, trying to regulate the flow precisely is tricky, the valves get dirty and there is constant tweaking when trying to run multiple items from one pump. It can work if the flow rate to each item is not super critical, but otherwise you may be better off with small pumps to run the reactors and a dedicated return.

The max flow of the two pumps is the same, however with head pressure the 1073.050 pumps higher. At 4ft the flow rates are 450 and 525 gph.

 

[Tremor_Clown]

Thank you Roger!
For the two media reactors, which Silence pumps would you recommend for each reactor? Maybe two 1073.020? Two 1073.040 for each reactor would probably be overkill, right?

Thanks again,
Ryan

 

[rvitko]

What are the specs for the reactor? How much flow does it need and how high do you have to pump? A lot of the smaller ones only need 1073.008.

 

[Tremor_Clown]

Hi Roger,

They are ATB 120mm media reactors (new style) with half inch input/output.
I can't find the rated gph flow for each, but I'm guessing around 200 -300 gph max per each reactor. The reactors will be running carbon and GFO. The reactors will be located next to the sump, so approximately 2 to 2.5 feet of head to pull up the sump.

Thank you,
Ryan

 

[rvitko]

You could probably run both with a 1073.020 and since they probably are not too particular if they get 150 or 300gph it isn't a big deal. I would probably go that route and use good valves, those Two Little Fishies valves are pretty good, I haven't had the best luck with hardware store valves for PVC, they tend to be stiff and hard to adjust and the opening is really restricted when you close the ball a little so a chunk of bacteria film from the hose or some algae will clog it and really throw off the flow rate and then you have to open it and readjust it to purge the obstruction.